IMPROBABLE MODELS FROM FANTASY-MASTER GREG DeSANTIS

SMN report:

Today’s images are a trip back in time to the years 2005 and 2006, when US concept artist and modelmaker Greg DeSantis made a series of compelling fantasy and science-fiction models. However, these were not wood, plastic, or metal creations - instead, they were 3D models created in a computer - for Greg was, and is, a gifted digital modelmaker.

2012 INCOMING - GORGEOUS STEAMPUNK KITS FROM FICHTENFOO AND INDUSTRIA MECHANIKA

SMN report:

Boy, there are some enviable kit-producing talents out there, and they are not just working with the mainstream companies, either. US modelmaker and web designer Michael Fichtenmayer is among those talents, and his FichtenFoo and Industria Mechanika websites bring us all manner of science-fiction delights, including this limited-edition model kit of Ralph McQue’s Remora, a sort of anti-gravity floating cargo ship. Orders are being taken now for this very limited release.

IPMS SCALE MODELWORLD 2011 - PHOTO REPORT

SMN report:

The Scale ModelWorld 2011 Show was a major event last weekend for the IPMS (International Plastic Modellers Society), and a galaxy of models were on display. SMN’s own Mat Irvine was at the show with a stand (above), and all in all, the annual bash went down very well indeed.

CLOUD OF KITS FLY IN FROM PEGASUS

Mat Irvine reports from iHobby Expo:

Continuing my look at the new goodies on show at iHobby, this time I'm inspecting Pegasus Hobbies, a company that started off by making glitzy accessories for car modellers, an aspect it still does, but that now also makes aircraft and military models, and is best known for its science-fiction kits.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

As we enter the Christmas season, we can all look forward to 2011 which, if model world rumors even come partly true, promises to be a very eventful year!

 Thank you for visiting Scale Model News throughout 2010 and we look forward to your company in times to come.

We are also looking forward to launching some major improvements to Scale Model News. So stay tuned!


As for the pix above, well wouldn’t we like to make a kit of that Jules Verne Nautilus lookalike?! Sad to say, there isn’t one quite like it available, so it’s here as an Xmas-week project idea for you kit-bashers out there.

And who got the idea for the Hawk paint job? This US-issue Hawk, aka T-45, is one of several of these jet trainers finished in deliciously bright Centennial markings. And you don’t need to be a skilled basher to create one for the display shelf...

Have a look at some Hawks (and not just the BAe kind) here.

WOULD YOU CLASS THESE CREATIONS AS MODELS? OR ART? OR SCULPTURES? OR PERHAPS ALL THREE...

SMN took in a fascinating exhibition yesterday, at the Oxford Museum of the History of Science (OMHS), in the famed UK university city. The show’s all about ‘Steampunk’, a genre of science fiction that combines Victorian-era technology and materials in a ‘what-if’ scenario of how things might appear with a hint of today’s science in the mix.

It’s a very appealing look that features brass, copper, iron, and rich woodwork in a sort of Jules Verne sci-fi style - if you liked the Walt Disney movie 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, then you’ll enjoy steampunk. The OMHS features a bunch of artists and their creations, with a corner devoted to SMN’s favourite steampunker, Stephane Halleux, with work that’s unique in the field for its gently humorous flavour (top two pictures above).

All the pieces are notable for the model-making skills that went into making them, and that’s why we’ve included them today. Halleux’s work features stitched leather that wouldn’t look out of place in a World War I biplane model. Another piece looks almost like a mad rat’s nest of assemblage from a billion bits of old Airfix kit. Yet another combines a church with a tank, with a gun ready to fire out of the tower.

Overall, the exhibition is really worth a visit - it’s not huge, but the rest of the OHMS is fascinating as well, so there’s plenty to see for an hour or three. The exhibition is free and runs until February 21, 2010.

Visit the Oxford Museum of the History of Science here.

JULES VERNE’S NAUTILUS SUBMARINE TO 1:72 SCALE

We had a nautiloid moment here at SMN, when we realised that good models of Jules Verne’s fictional Nautilus are far easier to get hold of than the US Navy vessel. And of the Verne subs, few are better than this one, from Oregon-based Total Immersion.

Total Immersion’s 1:72 scale Nautilus is based on the dramatic design that featured in the 1954 Walt Disney 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, and a very handsome model it is too, measuring some 813 mm (32 in) long. Just for once, we’re not complaining about oversize rivets on a model, as Victorian-era machines had ’em in spades! Mind you, the Disney sub isn’t a bit like Verne’s original book description, which detailed it as an elongated cigar shape, powered by sodium-mercury batteries. But SMN’s thumbs-up goes to the fabulous ‘Disney-Gothic’ styling, working by means of a proto-nuclear power plant!

In TI’s words, the kit is: “...based on the Harper Goff visualization built by Tom Scherman Hollywood set designer and Lee Seiler hydrodynamic model ship builder at the Department of Naval Architecture University of California Berkeley model ship towing tank”.

As you can see from the pictures, a LOT of work has gone into this product, which is available in kit form or fully-built to special order. Extra items include various figure sets, and a radio-control kit for underwater operation in the nearest lake.

Incidentally, Lee Seiler (the man behind the kit) is a long-time model builder, who has picked up a TV Emmy and whose dinosaur sculptures grace museums worldwide. He has some tasty future items planned for us, including another 1:72 scale ship, the American Civil War Monitor. Sounds good, Lee: we’re looking forward to it.

Visit Total Immersion here.

SMALL, BUT PERFECTLY DETAILED

One of the most consistent Airfix model ranges has been its sets of 00/H0 figures. Begun in 1959 with two sets - the Guards Band and Guards Colour Party - the range soon expanded to include figures from World War I, World War II, Civilians, Zoo Animals, American Civil War, the Wild West, Tarzan, Robin Hood, and even Astronauts.

All have been to the ‘convenient’ scale of 00/H0 as they were initially intended to fit in with railway layouts, though we are not quite sure where the Astronauts fit in! However, it is only in Britain that 00 gauge, (1:76) is used - everyone else uses H0 (1:87). But people - and animals - are usually pretty adaptable, size-wise.

Over the years there have been many such sets, but there’s never really been a definitive catalogue until now, with the new book Airfix’s Little Soldiers, written by a Frenchman, Jean-Christophe Carbonel - ‘JC’ to all. JC certainly knows his stuff - he always maintains that he learnt his excellent English by studying Airfix instruction sheets, and here he has produced a very comprehensive book. Airfix’s Little Soldiers contains not only the whole history of the subject title, but also the similar scale figures from other manufactures.

It is published by Histoire & Collections in both French and English versions. Le livre est très bon, JC.

JC also runs his own fascinating modelling website. It is (virtually) all en Français, but that make it good for practicing your French - and anyway, there are a lot of pictures!

The photo of JC above was taken at the 2007 ScaleModelWorld in Telford, UK. He is showing off one of his Jules Verne creations - he is rather fond of his most famous countryman in the world of science fiction.

Mat Irvine

You can visit Histoire & Collections here, and JC's website here.